User:JustinePorto/Public toilets in the Republic of Congo

Public toilets in the Republic of Congo

Public toilets
A French speaking country, the local words for toilets include toilettes and WC, while the local word for toilet paper is Papier toilette, the word for men's toilet is hommes and the word for women's toilet is femmes.

WaterAid ranked the country as one of the ten worst in the world in 2016 for urban access to safe and private toilets. On a per capita basis, WaterAid said in 2016 that the country was in the top ten for having the least number of safe and private toilets in urban areas.

Regional and global situation impacting public toilets in the Republic of Congo
Around 2.5 billion people around the world in 2018 did not have access to adequate toilet facilities. Around 4.5 billion people lacked access to proper sanitation. Public toilet access around the world is most acute in the Global South, with around 3.6 billion people, 40% of the world's total population, lacking access to any toilet facilities. 2.3 people in the the Global South do not have toilet facilities in their residence. Despite the fact that the United Nation made a declaration in 2010 that clean water and sanitation is a human right, little has been done in many places towards addressing this on a wider level.

An issue in developing countries is toilet access in schools. Only 46% of schools in developing countries have them. Many schools around the world in 2018 did not have toilets, with the problem particularly acute in parts of Africa and Asia. Only one in five primary schools on earth had a toilet and only one in eight secondary schools had public toilets. In developing countries, girls are less likely to attend school once they hit puberty if their school does not have adequate hygiene facilities.

Across Africa, open defecation had social consequences. These included loss of dignity and privacy. It also put women at risk of sexual violence.

Flush toilets are often only found in affluent areas of developing countries.